About Daton Ngawi'

The combination of the Kadazandusun of the Bunduliwan dialect words, Daton Ngawi’, literally means, ‘ours all’ or the norm version, ‘all ours’. The conceptual meaning of the whole name, therefore, is strangely, ‘Our Freshwater Fish Farm’. Once upon an early quite morning, a group of people, as once shared by Kondu Philip, were gathered at someone’s house observing a Kadazandusun Wake vigel. In the stillness of the morning, at about 4.00 o’clock, a not so distant rattle of a moving truck was heard. The rattle was so filling the peace of the Tambunan valley morning that it was clearly discerned that the exhaust pipe of that on-the-move truck was completely broken and totally disconnected more towards the perhaps 3000cc engine. One irritated members of that group of acquantances asked as to whose that should-be-off the road truck could be. The owner who was present among them, fully knowing that his son could very well be at the wheel, feeling a bit self conscious, owned up, saying, “Daton ngawi’ no ilo’”, meaning, “that’s actually ours”. Kondu Philip propergated the use of that catch phrase, “Daton Ngawi’ ”, entoned with a glotal stop (’ ) at the end. He was a senior English teacher at SMK Tambunan at that time. Kondu Philip owned a short-wheel base land rover as his transport facility to work. On the left hand side door of that land rover was written his catch phrase, Daton Ngawi’, signifying that he had registered a some sort of a business enterprise in Tambunan District and he named it, “Daton Ngawi’ ”. Quite far away from its original source, the Tambunan District, a Freshwater Fish Farm in Kampung Tintap in the Penampang District was duly registered as a business venture. Memories of friends and acquantances at work some over twenty five years ago still prevailed and as a way to prolong and cherish fast fading friends’ faces, “Daton Ngawi’ ” as a business venture name was used. The mere mention of “Daton Ngawi’”, Kondu Philip’s catch phrase, could trigger memories flooding back. “Daton Ngawi’ Freshwater Fish Farm”, as a name, could be translated as, “Our Freshwater Fish Farm”. The name was seen as customers friendly.